To not let 4 year old go to trampolining party?

[thegreatestgiftthatipossess]

My 4 year old (with hyper mobility) has been invited to a trampolining birthday party. He's never been to one before because I've read it's not safe for under 6s. I've also got a few doctor/nurse friends who said they would never in a million years allow their children to use them.
I wouldn't be able to go on the trampolines with DC, as I will have recently given birth.
Am I being over cautious in missing the party? Also not sure if I should be honest with the mum (a good friend) or say we already have plans.

My 2 (8 and 5) love trampolining and have done for a fair while.
However ever I am very cautious re parties. I've accepted for my oldest as it was her best friend but refused for the younger one.
Like the OP I have an even younger child so cannot be there to supervise and in a party all the kids being crazy. I am happy taking my kids to a small trampoline place on a quiet day and watching them from the side or taking them to a bigger place but then we all go in (husband + younger one - who is coming up to 3 soon anyway included - either on the trampoline if allowed or on the side so I can bounce with the oldest).
I'm not a v protective parent at all but this makes sense to me. Trampolining can lead to nasty injuries, not worth the risk.

This is strange, as my DS is hypermobile and when we saw the consultant he made no mention or rugby and trampolines and he does both. Does it depend on the degree of the mobility?

My 4 year old went to a trampolining party the other week, she doesn't have any physical issues and I can't comment on whether they're suitable but after reading these replies I'm wondering if the trampoline places vary.

At the one we visited it was a large room with wall to wall trampolines separated by padded foam sections, there were no springs showing and no edges at all in the whole room for the kids to fall off.
They weren't particularly springy, nobody was jumping really high, more little jumps a few inches off the ground.

There were also members of staff in there supervising.

I never felt dd was at risk of injury, no more than being bumped at a soft play, my only worries were occasionally losing sight of her and so wish I'd dressed her in a more visible top.

@StreetwiseHercules why such a dismissive reply? Actually I'd say you're incredibly naive.

My DC had DDH - hip dysplasia. Had several operations but is ok now. The consultant orthopaedic surgeon told me point blank to never ever get a trampoline for our garden and approach all others with extreme caution. The reason: he had seen the worst injuries caused by kids on trampolines.

And let's be honest here - no one I know with one actually adheres to ANY of the safety rules or frankly even supervises them other than an occasional look out of their window into the garden.

Glad you've declined the invite OP.

“ was a large room with wall to wall trampolines separated by padded foam sections, there were no springs showing and no edges at all in the whole room for the kids to fall off.”

You are absolutely right. Trampoline parks done have springs at all, the trampolines are all fixed by bungee cords. The person who showed an image of someone with a spring lodged in their back was being ridiculous.

The one we visited was like this.

I’m reading this with interest. My 18 month old has just been diagnosed with hyper mobility and I had no idea that this would rule out trampolining.

In your case OP I certainly don’t think he should go.

I avoided trampoline parks for years with my 2 until one day a friend’s mum wanted to go. I was actually pretty reassured that it was well run and it was fine. Mine have now been quite a few times, I always try to go at times it’s quieter, and the place they go to isn’t that big and does enforce the rules strictly. I too am glad though when they come off in one piece!

My 18 month old has just been diagnosed with hyper mobility and I had no idea that this would rule out trampolining

It may not - it depends on the degree. However as an child who trained in the days of less awareness of hypermobility I carry the long term effects and made damned sure my own DC stayed in the constraintes recommended by their specialists. (not that difficult, most things were fine).

However be prepared for this attitude from the ignorant who think they know better, including sometimes PE teachers:

Utterly, utterly ridiculous. There are few things better for kids in terms of exercise, gross motor skills and fun than trampolining.

My personal feeling is that, if the recommendation is that it's for children of six years old and older, I wouldn't allow my DDs to go to such a party under that age.

But that's partly because I have first hand experience of how dangerous trampolines can be if misused. 11 years ago, I stupidly joined in with my 3 nieces/nephews and my DH on their trampoline because we were all being silly. Well, I paid heavily for my silliness. I fell over on the trampoline and damaged ligaments in my left ankle. I also discovered that a previous injury, which I had thought was a bad sprain, had in fact been a fracture (it happened whilst I was working on a short term project in West Africa). I ended up with bruising to the bone, which took 2 years to get better. By the time it was over, I'd damaged my right hip from over compensating.

Obviously, children are more supple than a woman in her late thirties. But serious injury is nevertheless well possible after a bad accident and I, personally, wouldn't want to take the risk. If thirty something adults can be stupid, like I was, children certainly could when over excited.

I have no problem with my DDs going to trampoline parties now, at 10 and 7. They do gymnastics every week, they're very good at it and love trampolining.

Don't go. I hate the idea of those places. Someone bought our kids tickets to one for Christmas and we put it off until the giver reminded us that the tickets were due to expire. We went and I spent the whole hour panicking. Kids enjoyed it but I hated the thought of it.

Utterly, utterly ridiculous. There are few things better for kids in terms of exercise, gross motor skills and fun than trampolining.

I suspect this poster is confusing hyper-mobile with hyper-active !!

If your dc is prone to subluxing knees or hips then there is no way they should go trampolining. However if their joints hyper-extend, without subluxation, trampolining is probably ok (ish). In your case, I definitely would decline. Parties of kids this age are always a bit chaotic, they really are too young imo to follow all of the safety guidelines all of the time. It is up to you whether you tell the truth, I personally would just say I am so sorry but we cannot make it.

We have a trampoline at home and it does seem to benefit my hypermobile children however they were older than 4 when we got it and are able to understand their limitations better due to their age.

I actually wouldn't mind having one in the garden (not going to happen as there's no room) because DC would be using it entirely on their own and it has a big net round it. My neighbour has a tiny one that wouldn't fit more than two kids and it's quite stiff, so I can't see how much damage could be done in those circumstances. But a large, very bouncy group of trampolines with no nets? I'm not sure it's even safe for adults, let alone kids.

I am hypermobile and have been forever. I LOVED trampolining as a child, and ballet, and horse riding, and gymnastics. My parents let me do everything so I never saw, and still don't see, hypermobility as a problem or a reason not to bloody well live life. Hth

As a childminder I can't even get insurance to allow children to go on trampolines as it is too risky!

My 9 year old has been to a trampoline park but I wouldn't allow my under 6s. The stress on their joints from bouncing is reason enough.

I know way too much about hypermobility.

I was a talented dancer. I was made to give it up because 'your joints'.
I was good at gymnastics. I was made to give it up because 'your joints'.
I wasn't allowed to play football because 'your joints'.
I wasn't allowed to take the stabilisers off my bike because 'your joints'.
I wasn't allowed any weightbearing exercise because 'your joints'.
I wasn't allowed to go swimming because 'your joints'.
I wasn't allowed to run, jump, climb, play out with my friends because 'your joints'.

So I lost muscle tone. The loss of muscle tone made my joints more unstable. Which meant they dislocated more frequently from such things as walking a bit too fast or trying to carry something light. Which meant I did less. All on the grounds of 'your joints'.

As an adult (before the arthritis kicked off again), I went for physiotherapy. The main item the physio used in those first courses was a trampoline because they absorb the majority of the shock to the hypermobile joints, thus reducing the likelihood of further injury.

Wobble boards are fun, too - but nowhere near as effective at strengthening muscles and stabilising joints as trampolines.

Don't wrap him up in cotton wool and restrict him on the basis of his joints. He'll still hurt himself, it'll just be as a result of such things as putting one foot in front of the other. He'll learn to put them back in place, how to bandage/strap them. He'll not be best pleased about the frequent injuries, but believe me, if you're going to end up hurt anyway, it's worth it to actually have some fun rather than be isolated from your friends and all the things you want to do because of 'your joints'.

I won't restrict his use forever, but I do think 4 is too young. He does football and is very energetic, so I'm not concerned in the slightest that I'm holding him back from improving his muscle tone.

it's worth it to actually have some fun rather than be isolated from your friends and all the things you want to do because of 'your joints'.

But Mitzi your experience was at the other end of the extreme. For most people with hypermobility there will be many physical activities they can do but a few they should advoid. Trampolining and contact sports are two of the common "avoids". I wish to gods more had been known about it when I was young as I could have avoided some of the problems I've had as an adult by training in a different way.

The only people who can advise the OP on whether its wise for this particular child are the specialists who know the child's individual situation. Pending that, trampolining and contact sports and gym training of the type which is poorly supervised are all things I'd avoid.

When trampolining, gym training and then, once those were done, team sports were the things that were recommended to me specifically for stabilising the joints, @c8h10n402, they should be avoided?

Trampolining is a high risk activity for any 4 year old though, hypermobile or not.

I've a hyper mobile dd who has used trampolines since a toddler. They have special toddler sessions at our trampoline places and she's been regularly since then - she's 6 now and last attended a trampoline party last week. I'd never thought about it being an issue . She's always been fine though so no harm

Mine is hypermobile & at that age, no way I hell would I risk it, we have enough injuries to contend with, without putting them in harms way

I'd offer a much better day out as compensation, what's he into, find something special that sparks his interest & take him to that instead

When trampolining, gym training and then, once those were done, team sports were the things that were recommended to me specifically for stabilising the joints, @c8h10n402, they should be avoided?

Sorry I'm not quite sure what you are saying - are you saying that because advice to you changed over time it should have been ignored? Or that your parents were over protective?

My point was that the only people who know the child's individual situation well enough to advise are those involved in the care because hypermobility affects people in different ways depending on the nature and extent of their condition.

So in the absence of specific advice for the child then yes, trampolining is one of the few sports I'd avoid for a child that age until I could discuss it further with their specialists.

Many of the mobility issues I have now are a direct result of doing the wrong kind of sports/training at a time when hypermobility wasn't even recognised as an issue. The right advice could have enabled me to avoid many of the subsequent problems.

My DD has Ehlers Danlos syndrome and is ‘spectacularly hyper mobile’ according to the physio. Her paediatrician has advised us not to limit her activities as her body needs to learn different ways of keeping her joints stable by building up the muscles around them. Having said that though, I wouldn’t let her in a trampoline park without either me or her dad there to closely supervise